The bar chart compares the number of students at a UK university who completed their dissertation on time or late, failed to write it, or rewrote it in 1990, 2000 and 2010.
Overall, the number of students who completed their dissertation, both on time and late, increased steadily over the period, while the figure for those who failed to write their dissertation declined sharply. Rewriting a dissertation remained the least common outcome throughout the years shown.
In terms of on-time completion, the number of students rose significantly from about 150 in 1990 to just over 200 in 2000, before reaching approximately 300 in 2010. A similar upward trend can be seen among students who completed their dissertation late, with figures increasing from around 20 in 1990 to roughly 30 in 2000 and peaking at nearly 50 in 2010.
By contrast, the number of students who failed to write their dissertation decreased markedly. In 1990, close to 50 students were in this category, but this number fell to around 20 in 2000 and dropped further to only a few students by 2010. Meanwhile, the number of students who rewrote their dissertation remained relatively low across all three years, fluctuating slightly but never exceeding about 30 students.